Marrying into the Potter Family
by strangerslikem3
Summary: Five drabbles about five women who marry into the Potter family.
1. Dorea and Charlus

_December 20, 1977_

"James, are you keeping something from me?" Dorea Potter asked her son at the dinner table that evening. He had been far quieter than usual the past few days, and Dorea was worried.

"Of course not, Mum," he responded quickly, looking down at his peas. The older woman exchanged a glance with her husband and then returned her stare to her son.

"James... I know when you're hiding something. I'm your mother. What is it?" she asked as she set her fork down on her plate. James nervously met his mother's eyes and fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I've just been... I've been thinking lately and I was wondering if maybe..." James glanced desperately at the clock.

"Spit it out, son," Charlus Potter warned.

"Can Lily visit us after Christmas for a few days?"

Charlus and Dorea exchanged looks of surprise at their son's request. Sure, they had known about James's fixation with Lily Evans for years, but they hadn't realized that James and Lily's relationship had progressed so fast.

"No, James..." Dorea protested and patted down her greying hair.

Now that James had "spit it out," he felt more confident and switched tactics. "Please, Mum? Lily doesn't like being home at holidays because it feels weird without her mum around and her sister hates her, and I figured that you could be like a second mum to her and, well, I can't be like a brother to her, but we'd at least keep her distracted!"

Dorea's expression softened, and she hated herself for it. Charlus always said she was too soft with James. Then again, so was he. But the poor girl's mother died! She couldn't say no to that. It was completely justifiable.

"What do you think, Charlus?" she asked, trying to avoid the hazel, hope-filled eyes of her son to look at the tired, hazel eyes of her husband of nearly thirty years.

"I don't see a problem with it," he replied with a shrug and Dorea could have sworn she saw a conspiratorial wink in James's direction.

"Fine, Lily may stay with us," Dorea sighed in defeat. There was no winning with these two. James let out a whoop and got up from the table to hug his mother.

"Mum! You're the best!" he yelled in her ear. With a small smile, she hugged him back, savoring the feeling of her son's love while she could. After all, it wouldn't be long until he moved out completely.

"Sit down, we have things to discuss, love," she laughed.

"If you say rules, just know that I'm going to break them," he threw a wink in his mum's direction when he was sitting.

"If you break the rules, just know that I'm going to ground you," she tossed back at him. Charlus laughed at their antics and reached for his wife's hand.

"But, Mum..." he whined.

"Rule one: One of us must be home at all times."

"Fine."

"Rule two: Lily sleeps in the guest room. You sleep in your room."

"Really, Mum? Do you seriously not trust me to be alone in my bedroom with my very beautiful girlfriend?"

"James Potter!" Dorea glared and looked at her husband for support.

"I am not getting involved in this, sweetie," Charlus laughed.

"Fine, fine, I'll sleep in my room and Lily will sleep in hers," James agreed finally with a pout.

"Rule number three: You must both keep your doors open at all times," Dorea said and looked at her son.

"Geez, Mum, are you trying to ruin my relationship?" James looked put out.

"No, I'm trying to prevent grandkids," Dorea deadpanned.

"Your mum just knows what we were like at your age and she's concerned for you," Charlus told his son with a wink. Blood rushed to Dorea's cheeks as James hooted with laughter and her husband's eyes crinkled in the familiar way.

"Charlus!" she shrieked.

"Darling, you know I couldn't resist," he said in response. One corner of his mouth lifted up into a crooked smile and she felt like a teenager all over again.

"You're so irritating," she said fondly and leaned over to kiss her husband.


	2. Lily and James

_September 26, 1980_

"James," Lily Potter said groggily and nudged her husband when she awoke to the sound of their baby's cries. He snored in response. "James, wake up. Harry's crying again."

"But Lily..." he whined.

Lily opened her eyes to give herself the satisfaction of rolling them at James. He could be so irritating sometimes. "It's your fault we have a baby, go take care of it," she remarked and pulled the pillow around her head to cover her ears.

"Oi, as if you're never randy," James grumbled as he sat up. In response, Lily gave a satisfied smirk.

"But you see, I pushed Harry out of my bloody vagina, so I think I've paid my dues," she remarked.

"I always get up for him!" he protested.

"Good. Let Mummy sleep," she said and rolled over.

"Lily, you know I'm terrible at getting him to stop crying. He likes you way better," he tried with a feeble smile. Sitting up immediately, Lily stared at him incredulously.

"James Potter! Don't ever say that. Our son does not favor any of us over the other. Besides, I'm rotten at getting him to stop crying, too," she sighed. They both listened to Harry's cries for a few moments before Lily groaned. "Fine, I'll go with you if you carry me. I'm still sore from tripping over Harry's toys the other day."

And so James picked Lily up bridal-style and she snuggled into his arms on their way across the hall to Harry's bedroom. Gently, James placed Lily in the rocking chair and treaded across the room to his son's crib.

"Harry, Harry, tell me what's wrong, love," he mumbled as he picked up his baby out of the crib.

"Is it a diaper issue?" Lily asked, wrinkling her nose. James opened the back of Harry's diaper and checked, shaking his head afterwards.

"Thank Merlin," the couple said in unison. Along with debates over getting up in the middle of the night, James and Lily Potter had famously passionate arguments over diaper changing responsibilities. Holding Harry close to his chest, James began to rock back and forth and hum softly to Harry.

"I wish Mum was here to tell me what to do," James confessed quietly, staring intently at his son. "I mean, I turned out all right..."

"I know the feeling. My mum was always amazing with children," Lily whispered, a hollow tone to her voice. "Can I have him?"

James brought Harry over to Lily and placed him in his wife's arms. "Harry, you are so special to us," she breathed in a kiss to his unblemished forehead. Because he was still crying, she rubbed a hand over his jet black hair in a soothing motion. "Shh, Harry, it's okay. Crying doesn't solve problems. Mummy and Daddy solve problems," she said. The crying grew quieter.

"Haarrryyyy," James sang softly as he leaned over his wife and child. Smiling, Lily looked at her husband. "Harry, go to sleep. Clouds want to take you away... Doesn't sleeping on clouds sound wonderful, Harry?" Lily could sense the moment between the two most important males in her life and handed her firstborn back to James. The crying had ceased and now James cradled Harry in his arms while placing kisses on his tiny fingers in an effort to make him fall asleep.

After a few minutes, Harry had returned to sleep and James carefully placed him back in his crib. "James, you are a good father," said Lily while she got up from her chair.

"And you're a good mother," he responded.

"We make a great team," she added and put an arm around his waist.

"We make great love," he winked.

"You're so randy," she rolled her eyes at James. Even so, when they returned to their room, Lily couldn't resist kissing him passionately.


	3. Ginny and Harry

_September 1, 2019_

"I don't want them to leave," Ginny Potter confessed as she poured herself a cup of coffee. Her husband, Harry Potter, looked up from the stove with an expression of surprise.

"Me neither."

"This time they'll all be gone. Gosh, the house will be so quiet. I got so used to all three of them mucking about this summer," she smiled sadly.

"Oi! We did more than muck about this summer. We had the greatest summer ever," commented Harry as he flipped an egg.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

"We traveled all over Europe and did so many exciting new things!" he exclaimed whilst adjusting his glasses on his nose.

"I'm not sure the kids really enjoyed it, though. I think James would have been happier playing pranks on all of the Weasleys, Albus would have been happier reading books, and Lily would have been happier dressing up in ball gowns for dinner every night," she said. The copper in her hair shone especially bright that morning, as the sunlight was streaming through the window directly onto her head.

"Oh, come on, Gin, they can do all of that at school. We spent it together and that's all that matters, really." With a _click_, Harry turned the stove off and set down the spatula.

"You're right. I'm just going to miss them so much," she said. "And I'm not ready for my baby to be a big Hogwarts girl. I can't deal with that."

Taking the few steps to cross the kitchen, Harry pulled Ginny into a tight hug and rested his chin on top of her head. They stayed like that for a few moments, wrapped up in each other, until Ginny pulled away and sighed.

"We should wake the kids," she said wistfully.

"You're right; breakfast is ready," Harry responded. He took his wife's hand and they trudged up the stairs together. As soon as Ginny raised her fist to the first door on the right to knock, the door flung open and out came Lily. She was fully dressed and in the middle of brushing her hair.

"I'm so excited! HOGWARTS!" she yelled and flung her arms around her mum's waist tightly. When the brush she was holding ended up smacking against Ginny's back, she let out a grunt of pain. "Sorry, Mum!" she called over her shoulder as she ran down the stairs.

"Poor girl probably didn't sleep a wink last night," Harry said with a laugh.

"Especially if she's anything like me," Ginny finished. She pulled him along down the hall towards Albus's room. After knocking, she gently pushed open the door and called, "Albus. It's time to wake up, sweetie." When there was no response, she switched on the light to see her son huddled in the corner of his room holding a book in one hand. In his other hand, he held his wand over the book, as if he was using it as a light source. A guilty smile played across his features and Ginny gave him a look.

"Mum! I go back to school _today_, is it really that big of a deal?" he argued immediately.

"Albus! Of course it's a big deal. You know the rules. No magic outside of school. Now get up and go eat breakfast. You still need to pack, don't you?" Ginny placed a hand on her hip and gave Albus a stern look. He cowered under her gaze.

"_Fine,_" he muttered and stood up to walk to his closet.

"Oh, and expect a detention with Neville for disobeying the rules. I'll be sending him an owl as soon as you leave," Harry said bluntly as the couple walked out of his room. They heard him grumble in annoyance behind them.

Unlike his siblings, James was still sleeping when his parents pushed open his door. He was sprawled out across his bed and snoring. "Mum?" he said as he jerked awake. "Wha' time 's 't?" he asked.

"It's half past six. And time for you to wake up. Breakfast is ready, dear," Ginny said. James's hand reached over to his nightstand to retrieve his square glasses and put them on.

"Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Dad. See you downstairs in a bit," he said, sitting up. James's parents left the room, side by side.

"Have you ever noticed how weird our kids are?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

"Always," Ginny responded before leaning over to kiss her husband on the cheek.


	4. Aliya and James

_May 7, 2037_

"Well, when did you start performing magic?" Aliya Potter asked her husband while they were sitting on the couch. It had just been drawn to her attention that their daughter might be a, well, squib, for lack of a better term.

James drew in a deep breath. "I think I was about four."

"I was five," she said softly. Silence hung in the air between them until Aliya scooted over and grabbed James's sweatshirt. In response, he placed an arm around her waist.

"It could be that she's just later than everyone else," supplied James.

"Could it? I don't really know how this is supposed to work. Muggle born, remember?" she sighed.

"Look, all I know is that Charlotte is much, much later than everyone else her age," James answered calmly.

"This is all my fault," she moaned. James looked at her incredulously.

"What on Earth are you talking about, Aliya?"

"I'm a muggleborn. Obviously my magic isn't as strong as yours, so my bad magic polluted our child and now she's a squib!" Aliya rushed out in distress.

"Don't you dare say that, love. Your magic is just as strong as mine, if not stronger. The fact that your parents are muggles doesn't change anything. Squibs happen even to families with the purest of blood. This isn't anyone's fault. It isn't even necessarily a bad thing," James said, passion suddenly in his voice. It was hard not to get passionate about blood discrimination for James. His father didn't save the bloody world for nothing.

Aliya shrugged and struggled to hold back tears. "I know it's not a bad thing, James. I just don't want Charlotte to be discriminated against or anything. I don't want her to constantly have to tiptoe between the wizarding world and the muggle world. I don't want her to be discriminated against in either of those worlds. I want her to feel like she fits in," she said. Tears flowed freely down her face now. Her husband grabbed her hand and rubbed small circles with his thumb.

"We'll help her. It will be okay," he spoke in a hushed tone.

"I wanted the excitement of sending a kid off to Hogwarts," she breathed.

"I know; me too," James said and pulled his wife closer.

Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life. In walked Charlotte herself, followed by her aging grandfather. "Mummy! Daddy! Look what Granddad gave me!" she yelled in a high pitched voice. She had her hands behind her back, obviously hiding something. Smiles appeared on James and Aliya's faces almost instantly at the sight of their daughter.

"What, baby?" Aliya asked her daughter, but her daughter just smiled mischievously for a few seconds. Finally, she moved her hands from behind her back to in front of her chest to reveal a stuffed animals about the size of her hand. She stretched out her arms and touched it to her mother's nose. "Honey, I can't see it when you hold it that close," she said as she moved back to catch a glimpse at it. It appeared to be a black dog, one of the big shaggy kind.

"I named him Grasshopper," she said simply. Aliya winked at her husband and turned to her father-in-law.

"Thank you, Harry. It sounds like Charlotte had a wonderful time with you and Ginny this afternoon," Aliya said with a hug to Harry.

"No problem. You know how much we miss having kids around," Harry said before looking at James.

"You should swing by my office more, James. It gets dreary filing paperwork alone. But I suppose it is better than the alternative." Harry grimaced and rubbed his scar, a nervous tick that Aliya had noticed right away when she began dating James.

James laughed and hugged his dad before pulling away and looking at him seriously. Grey speckled his once black hair, frown lines were present on his forehead, and smile lines were sprinkled across his face. "Let me know if you need anything, Dad."

"For Merlin's sake, James, I'm 56, not 76," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well, still," James said.

"You take care of that dog," Harry suddenly remarked seriously, nodding in Charlotte's direction.

"I will, Granddad. Bye! I love you!" she yelled. Within seconds, she had jumped into Harry's arms and was giving him a tight hug.

After everyone had sufficiently hugged one another, Harry Potter flooed back to his home, leaving Charlotte, Aliya, and James alone with one big elephant in the room.

"Darling, you need to tell us all about your afternoon with Granddad and Grandmum," James said to his daughter. This prompted her into a long speech about baking pies, playing games, and looking at old photos. While she was speaking, a conversation of their own was playing out between Aliya and James in hushed tones.

"Everything will be okay, really," he reassured his wife.

"I know, James. I have you," she smiled at him.


	5. Emily and Albus

_February 26, 2038_

"You'll fit in with the family so well," Albus Potter breathed into his fiancee's ear. Emily Rosier jumped in surprise. She had been looking at Potter family photos and been wrapped up in her own little world.

"No, I won't," she smiled sadly while gazing at the family photos. Albus's younger sister, Lily, had done tons of research a few years back on the history of the Potter family and sent away from pictures.

The first one on the left depicted the wedding photo of Albus's great grandparents. _Dorea Black Potter and Charlus Potter, 1940_ it read. A young woman with pale skin, bright blue eyes, and a long braid of glowing red hair held hands and smiled up at a much taller young man with brown hair. Charlus smiled back at her warmly, and they ignored the camera.

The next photo was a photo of another young woman with dark red hair curled every which way. Her bright green eyes switched back and forth between the camera and the man twirling her around. The man with rectangular glasses and messy black hair only looked at his wife. It read _Lily Evans Potter and James Potter, 1979._

Emily moved on to glance at the next photo, captioned, _Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley Potter and Harry Potter, 2002. _It was another wedding photo, but it captured the first kiss between them as a married couple. Ginny's red hair glittered with crystals woven throughout, and her pale skin was dotted with freckles. Harry's hair was patted down into some semblance of neatness.

The final photo, _Aliya Smith Potter and James Potter, 2030,_ Emily was familiar with. She had been there for the wedding. Even so, she studied it. Aliya's strawberry blonde hair was tied into a complicated up do at the back of her head, and freckles appeared all over her arms and face. James looked the same as usual, except happier, much happier. A smile lit up his entire face at the sight of his wife.

"What makes you say that?" Albus asked with surprise in his voice. Fingering her large engagement ring, Emily sighed.

"I'm blonde," she said simply. Her fiance's look of surprise was replaced with one of confusion.

"I know you're blonde. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just look at the photos, Al. Everyone to marry into the Potter family has been a redhead for _generations_!" she motioned towards the row of photos along the mantel. Curiously, Albus skimmed the photos with a wary eye.

"What, so you think I'll love you less because you don't have the same color hair as my sister-in-law, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother?" Al scoffed. Emily grew frustrated.

"It isn't silly, Albus! I won't fit in! And it's not just that. I've heard the stories. I've spent time with your sister when she was doing all of that genealogy research on your family. I can't possibly measure up to any of these women." Turning away from the mantel, Emily faced Albus. He wrinkled his nose in confusion.

"What?"

"Look," she pointed at Dorea and Charlus. "Dorea broke away from her family's values and refused to marry her betrothed. She married Charlus Potter instead. Apparently, the only reason she wasn't blasted off of the Black tree is because the Potters had money and influence in the wizarding community at the time," she explained.

"But you're a Rosier," he protested.

"Yes, but my parents were the ones to break away from tradition, not me," she countered. Pointing to the next picture, she spoke, "Lily Evans and James Potter had a wonderful love. She found him annoying for years. He grew up and matured. They fell in love. Not to mention the fact that by having sex, they literally saved the world. And Lily sacrificed herself for her son. That's amazing." She moved on to the next one, "And your parents. Well, your mum never gave up on your dad, that's for sure. Your mum's a total... _badass_. They've been through everything together and they've healed each other in so many ways."

"What about my brother? He and Aliya haven't had an epic love," Albus said, pointing to the last picture.

"But they have. James used to be so rebellious and unhappy. Aliya's made him a better person. Plus, they've been handling the whole Charlotte and magic thing really well," Emily sighed.

When Albus didn't respond, Emily knew her fears were correct. She just couldn't measure up to any of them, and they both knew it. Instead of saying anything, Albus simply took her hand.

"Love, I don't know how you don't see it," he finally said, bemused.

"What?"

Albus took a deep breath. "You're like Dorea in that you've completely melded into my family. You know them better than I know them sometimes. You're like Lily in that you would sacrifice yourself for any of your loved ones. You're like my mum in that you don't give up on your dreams, not ever. You're like Aliya in that you are accepting and understanding of everybody," Albus poured out.

"Oh," was all that Emily managed to get out.

"Besides, who cares what my family's like, anyway? We make each other happy and want to spend the rest of our lives together. Isn't that enough?"

"Oh, bloody hell. Come here," she said and the couple stepped closer to each other. In one fluid motion, Emily had her lips on her fiance's and for a moment, everything was perfect.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with this story! Most of the characters and elements of magic belong to JK Rowling so...**


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